Rare c.18th engraving of the Tea tree from surgeon John White’s account of the zoology of the early settlement of Sydney.
John White as surgeon-general for the colony brewed Tea tree leaves as an anti-scurvy measure. The species was first formally described in 1855 by Victorian Government Botanist Ferdinand von Mueller and given the name Camphoromyrtus pluriflora. It was placed in the genus Babingtonia in 1997 and in 2007 it was placed in the newly created genus Sannantha
Common name: Tall Baeckea
Modern binomial name: Melaleuca alternifolia
First described: Maiden, 1905
Distribution: QLD, NSW
Extract from White’s, Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales.
‘This is a tree or shrub whose leaves only we have seen, but from them we judge it to belong to the genus Smilax. For want of the stem we cannot settle its specific character. These leaves are about two inches long, ovatolanceolate, pointed, entire, marked with three longitudinal ribs, and many transverse elevated veins, smooth and shining above, glaucous beneath, with a thick cartilaginous edge of the substance of the ribs. The leaves have the taste of liquorice root accompanied with bitter. They are said to make a kind of tea, not unpleasant to the taste, and good for the scurvy. The plant promises much in the last respect, from its bitter as a tonic, as well as the quantity of saccharine matter it contains. Leaves of this plant are represented on the same plate with the Tea Tree. A. is the front, B. the back of a leaf.’
From John White’s, Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales
References:
Ferguson, J. A. Bibliography of Australia Volumes 1-8, Canberra 1976 97.
Hill, J. The Hill Collection of Pacific Voyages. San Diego 1974 1858.
Nissen, C. Die illustrierten Vogelbucher. Stuttgart 1995 ZBI 4390.
Abbey, J.R. Travel in Aquatint and Lithography 1770-1860. London 1972 605.
Wantrup, J. Australian Rare Books. Sydney 1987 17.
Crittenden, V. A Bibliography Of The First Fleet. ACT 1982 248.
Collections:
National Library Australia: Bib ID 87340
Royal Society, London: Library reference 22426
State Library New South Wales: Call Number: MRB/Q991/2A2
National Gallery Victoria: Accession Number2012.31
State Library Victoria: CCF 919.44 W58
National Museum of Australia: Object number 2007.0035.0001
